Mayor Pete Buttigieg announces he will not seek third term

 

SOUTH BEND, Ind.—Mayor Pete Buttigieg announced on Monday that he will not run for a third term as Mayor of South Bend when his current term ends in 2019.

“I love this job. And I’m mindful that it may be the best job that I will ever have. But, it’s also not the kind of job that you do forever.” Mayor Buttigieg said.

South Bend's current mayor still has one year and two weeks left in his term.

Mayor Pete said he will not share any more news about his political activity before the end of the year.

“I have spent the last few weeks in careful discernment, consulting with friends and colleagues, above all with Chasten, who makes tremendous sacrifices every day to allow me to do this job that I love so much. Through that consultation and that discernment, I know now that the time has come for me to prepare this city for new leadership once again. And when my present term in office comes to a close a year and two weeks from now, at the end of 2019, I will not be seeking a third term as mayor,” Mayor Pete said.

ABC57 asked the mayor if he planned to run for another office in 2020.

“I won’t be making any news about any other political activity on my end before the end of this year. I don’t think it’s a secret that we’re looking into things and will continue to do so into the new year.” He said, adding later “Sometimes you are a candidate and an office holder. That’s what I would be if I ran for mayor again. But anything that I might do politically is probably not something that I’ll be making any news about before January.”

There has been widespread speculation that he is eyeing a run at the Whitehouse. He currently has a political action committee that’s been raising money and supporting candidates across the country. Buttigieg is also heading to Iowa to speak at the Progress Iowa holiday party. Former democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders along with Bill De Blasio spoke at the event in the past.